The Foodie Tour – Bratislava, Slovakia

What should you do if you find yourself in a town with great food, and nothing planned for the day? Well, we made a little game out of it. We decided that we would visit as many different restaurants as we could while enjoying a bite to eat and a beverage at each place. It turned into a great way to experience the food that was offered while having a fun day in the process.

The first stop was a coffee shop called Enjoy Bistro. This way we could get caffeinated, and have a quick bite for breakfast. It is located just down the road for St. Michael’s Gate, and offers great seats in the sun in which to watch people as they take their pictures in front of the gate. The coffee and carrot cake were both good, but I am obligated to say that my wife makes a better carrot cake.

After the first stop, we were ready to get into the more serious business of finding local cuisine and enjoy a drink. We traveled a little further down the walking street to Fach (I don’t really know how to say it, but pick the one you are most comfortable with). Once again, there was plenty of outside seating and in the early afternoon is probably when you could start to find a little shade if it is getting too hot out. They do not have a lot of selection with their drinks, but there was good wine and I was excited to see Scotland’s own Brew Dog represented. The food at this place rotates day to day with always having selections that are vegan friendly. We enjoyed a salmon bao that was a perfect amount to share on an adventure like we had set up for ourselves. The wait staff was also really friendly, and when things died down a little bit from the lunch rush, our waiter was able to supply us with some more insight about the town we were staying in.

The gelato shops were just starting to open up for the summer season, and since we had not had gelato all winter long, we had to stop off for a quick cone. There are many excellent choices on the walking streets of Bratislava, but we went to the most convenient one, across the street from Fach, called Squisto. They had a good selection with your typical flavors represented. It was good, but if you want more variety I would recommend walking a little further to the tree lines streets and the bigger gelato shops found there.

The beer gardens closer to St. Michael’s Gate are a different story. There are a few courtyards that can be found off the street, all of them offering cozy places where you can grab a seat and taste locally brewed beer. Sladovna was just a couple of doors down from the gelato shop and the ivy strewn walls offered a great respite. Of course, we jumped right on the beer sampler, so we could have a taste of all the beers the place had to offer. Our stomachs were a little full with all of the food and drink we had had so far, so we only shared a pretzel, but it was warm, soft, and a great pairing with the beer.

The sampler took a little longer for us to get through and it allowed us to digest our food some. By the time we left, we were ready for another bite to eat. This took us to Orbis Street Food. We skipped having a drink at this place because the selection was not that great, but they did have frites, or Belgian fries. They were not as good as they would have been if we had them in Brussels, but they were the perfect food to give us enough energy to make it to our next stop.

That spot was 17’s Bar on the tree-lined pedestrian street at the far end of the old part of town. This was dressed up to look like any biker bar found in the United States, but the pizza, and great beer choices made it feel more like any place you would find in the touristy areas of Europe. The crowds had already gathered, and it was only four in the afternoon on a Friday. I am pretty sure that this place gets really crowded during the high season, so if you are going to make it here, be early. It has a nice shady spot where you can people watch on one of the busiest parts of the old town, so it is well worth the visit. Though we did not try the pizza, it looked really good, and there were times I wish we had.

Despite our full stomachs, we wanted to continue on our voyage, so we looked for a place where we could relax and was off the beaten path. I had discovered Storm Bar online. This was a board game pub, and I had always wanted to visit one of these places. It wasn’t took far from where we were, so we decided to check it out. It was a fun place to go to, and it did not have the crowds that the places in the old town did. The drinks were still really good, and about half the price. I also loved to decor of the place, and if this was a town I lived in, I would have my Dungeons and Dragons group meet there at least once a month to play. They did have a series of games there that you could play for free, but it was not the best selection, and very few of the games had rules in English. Still, we were able to sneak in a game of Ticket to Ride before leaving for our last spot for the evening.

This was the Flagship Restaurant which is situated in an old theatre in Bratislava. This is not in the old town area, but it is a big draw with the tourists. It is the place where you go if you wish to get some traditional Slovakian food. The wait staff is very friendly, the food is really good, and the atmosphere is something you will never forget. It was the perfect place to end our tour of food and drink for the evening, and it made me realize that I should do this more often to places where I visit. It is a great way to get to know a place, and experience all of the food that it has to offer.

So until next time, I hope the next place you visit, you can do the same as me, go on a foodie tour, and tell the tale after it is all done.